Moms Should Top "Most Beautiful" List

People Magazine has published yet another edition of what it perceives as the world's "Most Beautiful People." What everyone seems to realize - without saying as much - is that the headline and ensuing photostory are not quite accurate.

"Most Beautiful Celebrities" would be more appropriate. This edition is filled with mini-essays and pictures of movie stars and pop singers.

Yes, they might be beautiful. Certainly on the outside, possibly in their souls. But are the people People named the world's Most Beautiful indeed the most beautiful? Everyone has their opinion. Mine is I don't think so.

I say this because one of the most beautiful women I know somehow failed to catch the editor's eye.

My mom.

Maybe she hasn't starred in blockbuster movies or hit Number One With A Bullet. That's OK. I didn't realize these were prerequisites for being beautiful.

They're not.

What makes Mom beautiful? Well, for starters, she took on a pretty difficult assignment when she became a mother. Especially since I was the first born, the oldest of three.

As many people have commented, raising a child is on-the-job training with no instruction book or corporate policy. While I do't remember a lot about my infant years, I think there could have been easier first babies to raise than me.

But this isn't about me, it's about Mom ... even though I couldn't write this without being a part of the story. After all, this is my perception.

What else makes Mom beautiful? She makes excellent chicken soup. The best. The type that head honchos at Campbell's would taste and say, "Hire her at any cost!"

If there were chicken soup cooking contests at county fairs, Mom would be the uncontested Chicken Soup Queen.

Mom also made the best Friday Night Sabbath Dinner this side of Jerusalem. Yes, it was predictable: chicken, wild rice, mashed potatoes and plenty of iced tea. But it was the sort of "predictable" we Gabas thrived on.

There's more to Mom's beauty than cooking, though. I think the biggest, most important, definitely most beautiful part about her is, she's been with me when I need or want her.

Mom has shared my triumphs - such as my Eagle Scout Court of Honor and graduation from high school and college.

She has been part of my daily routine, from homework and driving me to youth group activities to attending orchestra concerts and Little League baseball games.

In times of difficulty - and there have been far too many - Mom has been there to ease the pain.

Mom has been there for me, whether as a shoulder to lean on or an ear to hear my complaints. She and Dad reared their children in a loving, caring atmosphere, always showing attention to their children and never ignoring even the most minute details.

Mom has lived up to the very difficult job requirements of being a mom.

I can't be in Detroit to help Mom celebrate Mother's Day No. 28 this Sunday. But I raise a glass and offer a toast to her, and all other mothers who are at the top of their children's Most Beautiful lists.

Happy Mother's Day.

This article originally appeared in the Ogemaw County Herald.